The present invention relates to credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, membership cards, loyalty cards, promotional cards, e.g., frequent flyer cards, prepaid phone cards, identification cards and the like, all of which are generally known as transaction cards, wherein information for carrying out the specified transaction is carried upon or within the boundaries of the card on a Transaction Information Medium such as a Magnetic Stripe, a Bar Code, optical storage, a computer chip, a smart chip, or the like.
Individually encoded, transaction cards for such uses as credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, prepaid phone cards, membership cards, I.D. cards, and the like are well known. These transaction cards typically carry unique information which has been encoded for carrying out a specific function or transaction. Often, this Encoding is done through Bar Codes that are used in conjunction with an optical scanner; Magnetic Stripes or strips used in conjunction with magnetic/electric scanners; computer chips, including smart chips, used in conjunction with electronic reader/scanners/writers; optical storage and recognition devices such as heliograms and combinations thereof. These various formats permit automatic machine scanning of the card for identification, transactions, entry, security, and so forth.
For example, credit cards and debit cards are used to purchase goods and services, identification cards provide their holders with access to restricted areas, and ATM cards enable patrons to conduct monetary transactions with financial institutions. Personal information of the card holder that pertains to the transaction to be performed, e.g. account numbers, identification data, etc., is stored in the card. The transaction information storage medium can be a Magnetic Stripe on the card. In the case of an Integrated Circuit (IC) card, including a smart card, the information is stored in an integrated circuit electronic memory within a chip embedded into the card, either in lieu of or in addition to a Magnetic Stripe.
Typically, a transaction card is paper, or more usually, a rectangular thin piece of plastic that contains a Transaction Information Medium which contains encoded information in a Magnetic Stripe, Bar Code, microprocessor/semi-conductor memory, optical memory/magnetic memory, or the like for use in various transactions from, for example, getting cash from ATMs or making phone calls. These transaction cards, which have become a common vehicle of commerce of all types, may contain information that is affiliated with a user-specific program, group, or promotion. These cards may contain unique data (applicable to that specific card), generic data (applicable to a group), customized printed graphics, associated technologies (e.g. Bar Code, Magnetic Stripe, signature panel, optical heliograms, IC, SIMM chip, smart chip, micro-printing or a combination of these.) A transaction card can be any size, but is generally in the industry described as a credit card of a size of 2.125″ by 3.370″ (width of about 86 mm and a nominal height of 54 mm). These cards have become well known as conventional, standard size transaction cards.
Conventional, standard size transaction cards have traditionally been sized to fit in a wallet or compartment within a notebook, briefcase, or the like. However, these conventionally sized cards are often too large and cumbersome to be conveniently carried on a more accessible medium, such as a keychain, wrist band, lanyard, or the like. Thus, transaction cards have been introduced in a smaller size for ease of handling. However, for transaction cards to be effectively carried on a keychain, their size must be significantly reduced from the conventional standard size credit card to a size, for example, from about 2½″ long by about 1½″ high (width of about 66 mm and a nominal height of 40 mm). These cards have been affectionately dubbed as “mini-cards,” or “keychain cards,” or “key tags,” or just “tags.”
One particularly challenging Transaction Information Medium for storing transaction information on a smaller card is the Magnetic Stripe. This is due primarily to the fact that the degree to which conventional standard size transaction cards bearing a Magnetic Stripe may be reduced in size is limited by the requirements of standard Magnetic Stripe card readers, such as point-of-sale (“POS”) terminals through which the user “swipes” the card to consummate a transaction. In order to ensure interface between the Magnetic Stripe readers and cards bearing Magnetic Stripes, the parameters defining the Magnetic Stripe are governed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The ISO/IEC 7811 provides standards for the physical characteristics of the Magnetic Stripe, including the location of the stripe on the card, the surface profile of the stripe, and the height of the stripe above the card surface. Thus, a transaction card that is reduced in size, such as a keychain card, must comply with ISO/IEC 7811 physical characteristics in order to be functional, or otherwise be compatible, with existing card readers and POS terminals.
Proper functioning of the Magnetic Stripe is very important. On conventional transaction cards, such as, for example, standard size credit cards, the Magnetic Stripes contain encoded information that electronic readers can read to perform the specified function and/or confirm identification. Thus, on credit and/or debit cards, the Magnetic Stripe is usually encoded with specific account information, such as the credit card number, cardholder's name, the card expiration date, a personal identification code, and the like. If the electronic device for reading the encoded information cannot properly read the Magnetic Stripe and/or all the information contained thereon, the vendor must enter the information manually, using a keypad, telephone, or other similar device. Manually entering the encoded information adds both indirect and direct costs to the vendor. In addition, vendors are frequently charged increased transaction fees by the card issuer for a manually entered transaction.
Even so, consumers continue to demand smaller and smaller size transaction cards for convenience in consummating many transactions, such as the use of credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, ID cards, entry cards, membership cards, and the like. As a result, these cards have been further reduced in size from the conventional standard size transaction card, but are still operable with currently used standard size card readers. This “size” verses “information” dilemma has been handled by, for example, increasing the bit density on the stripe of the smaller sized card. (See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,127, which is incorporated herein by reference.) Because such a card is compatible with currently used card readers, no redesign of existing card reader technology was required. This compatibility of the Keychain Size Transaction Cards with current readers extends to a Magnetic Stripe, Bar Code, optical device or an electronic device, such as a chip or a smart chip, and even to optical heliographic readers.
These smaller transaction cards greatly enhance the efficiency of frequent transactions, including sales transactions, key locks, and the like, by allowing oft used cards to be readily handy and easily retrieved, such as on a keychain. Further, because such a card is readily stored on a keychain or similar device, the probability that the card would be lost or misplaced is reduced. Irrespective of the advantages, some consumers still preferred the security in handling of the standard size card. Some prefer using both for different transactions. Thus, while these keychain cards, mini-cards or tags are popular, many consumers prefer the standard size transaction cards or to use keychain cards for some uses, while maintaining the standard size card for others.
Heretofore, a transaction card issuer was forced to issue either a standard size transaction card, or a keychain card, or both, separately. This imposed an additional expense upon the issuer in that both transaction cards had to carry identical required transaction information in order to be useful. This practice resulted in a duplication of information on both cards that served the same purpose. When millions of cards are involved, the expense associated with issuance of these cards becomes enormous.
It, therefore, would be advantageous for a card issuer to have the ability to provide a single transaction card assembly of standard “credit card” size which could be used in its original standard form for consummating transactions or easily converted to a Keychain Size Transaction Card by merely separating the Keychain Size Transaction Card from Standard Size Convertible Transaction Card Assembly, while maintaining the integrity of the Transaction Information Medium containing the required transaction information on the Keychain Size Transaction Card such that the consumer could choose to use either the standard size card, by not separating the Keychain Size Transaction Card, or could separate the Keychain Size Transaction Card for independent use and completely discard the remainder of the Standard Size Transaction Card Body which would be devoid of any necessary transaction information.
Since all the information required to consummate the transaction would be maintained within the boundaries of the Keychain Size Transaction Card, either card would be operable with presently available standard reading equipment; and, the novel configuration would negate the expensive necessity of providing two separate cards, each with identical transaction information, while allowing the card holder to satisfy his/her own preference for either the standard size transaction card, or the keychain size card for a particular transaction.